Whoa! Don't freak out, y'all! If I was gonna do something brash I would use a far more eloquent and cryptic title...
No, this post is about saying goodbye to...surfboards. You see, since I started surfing I've only sold a single board to a stranger and that board I sold had some bad juju in it so I was happy to get rid of it.
But with the current economic climate in the United States of Bryan and a lack of TARP relief funds to pay off stupid debts, ridiculously high living expenses in SoCal and endeavoring to start a new life as a trader...I find myself in a situation where I need to raise capital. Looking in the garage at my own surfshop amassed over the last 8 years I made the difficult decision to sell off some old friends.
The first board I sold a couple weeks ago was a custom single fin made by Surf Rx here in HB. I remember when I bought that board being tempted to never surf it in favor of hanging it on the wall as abstract art. That, of course, never happened and I can remember several memorable rides like they happened last week when they were in fact rides from years ago.
The second board I sold just earlier this week was the only used board I've ever bought. Since I bought it for so cheap and sold it at a reasonable price I think that board only cost me $40 to own/surf for a little over 2 years. Not really gonna miss that one; it wasn't my bag and I just held onto it because my friend Mike told me a long time ago to just hold onto all my boards instead of selling them...a practice that's nostalgic when times are good though not very rational when times are tight.
This weekend I'm selling a 3rd board which is an almost identical replica (in terms of dimensions, not appearance) of another custom board I own. I bought this one with removable fins in the belief/hope that I would be traveling a bunch...you see how that's panned out. I love the design of this board and it's a brilliant shape by arguably the best shaper of this type of board anywhere on Earth.
The final board I'm selling is a 5-fin Bonzer, handshaped by Malcom Campbell (who invented the Bonzer over 30 years ago). I got it about 3.5 years ago now and it's awesome. I don't like it as much as the other 3 Bonzers I own but it's still a cracker of a board. This one will be tough to see go. I'm selling it at a price that I believe is lower than what it's worth because surfers are the cheapest, greediest bastards out there when it comes to buying anything used but what can ya do...
All in all, it's sad selling these boards for a few reasons. Obviously, it's sad selling off boards that were all custom made for me and letting someone else enjoy them for the rest of their days; I become attached to every board the second I pick it up. But, it's also sad having to sell them to raise capital to pay off pesky debts, etc. It's one thing to sell a board because it doesn't work for you or you want to get money to pay for another board but it's another to sell a board to pay for something other than surfing.
But, it had to happen and I'm fine with it now. They're going to good homes, I'm getting the money I need and I have no doubt that I'll be filling their places in the board rack sooner rather than later.
So long old friends...thanks for the waves and the memories...
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